SCarolina's Wilson repeats as AP SEC women's player of year
ATLANTA (AP) - A'ja Wilson of South Carolina repeated as player of the year, Alabama freshman Jordan Lewis took the newcomer award and Missouri's Robin Pingeton claimed the coaching honor on The Associated Press All-Southeastern women's basketball team announced Wednesday.
Wilson was a unanimous choice as the league's top player for the second year in a row after leading the No. 4 Gamecocks (27-4) to their third straight SEC championship . The junior forward ranks third in scoring (17.6 points per game), fourth in field-goal percentage (58.7), ninth in rebounding (7.6) and first in blocks (2.6).
Despite missing two games with a sprained ankle, Wilson also claimed a spot on the first team for the third consecutive season, joined by another unanimous selection, Kentucky's Makayla Epps, along with Missouri's Sophie Cunningham, Mississippi State's Victoria Vivians and Florida's Ronni Williams
Pingeton was named on every ballot for coach of the year, her reward for guiding the Tigers to a 21-10 mark that included an 11-5 finish in the SEC - the school's first winning mark against conference foes since joining in 2012.
Lewis, a 5-foot-7 point guard, stood out on one of the SEC's weaker teams. She averaged 9.7 points per game and ranked fifth in the league in assists (4.0).
The 2017 AP All-SEC women's team, with name, school, position, height, class and hometown (u-denotes unanimous selections):
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FIRST TEAM
u-Makayla Epps, Kentucky, G, 5-10, Sr. , Lebanon, Kentucky
u-A'ja Wilson, South Carolina, F, 6-5, Jr., Hopkins, South Carolina
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri, G, 6-1, So., Columbia, Missouri
Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State, F, 6-1, Jr., Carthage, Mississippi
Ronni Williams, Florida, F, 6-0, Sr., Daytona Beach, Florida
SECOND TEAM
Alaina Coates, South Carolina, C, 6-4, Sr., Irmo, South Carolina
Diamond DeShields, Tennessee, G, 6-1, Jr., Norcross, Georgia
Curtyce Knox, Texas A&M, G, 5-7, Sr., Humble, Texas
Evelyn Akhator, Kentucky, F, 6-3, Sr., Lagos, Nigeria
Mercedes Russell, Tennessee, C, 6-6, Jr., Springfield, Oregon
Morgan William, Mississippi State, G, 5-5, Jr., Birmingham, Alabama
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Player of the Year - u-A'ja Wilson, South Carolina
Coach of the Year - u-Robin Pingeton, Missouri
Newcomer of the Year - Jordan Lewis, Alabama
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AP All-SEC Voting Panel:
David Cloninger, The State (Columbia, South Carolina); Dylan Dixon, The Independent Florida Alligator; Dan Fleser, Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee); Adam Minichino, The Commercial Dispatch (Memphis, Tennessee); Scott Rabalais, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana); Jen Smith, Lexington Herald-Leader (Kentucky); Dana Sulonen, Opelika-Auburn News (Alabama);
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Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .
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For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org